TUI Travel PLC Announces Possible Merger

TUI Travel PLC, one of the largest tour operators in Europe, has just made an official statement regarding recent speculation over a proposed merger that would see it join forces with parent company TUI AG.

UK-based TUI Travel chose not to shed light on whether or not the deal would go ahead, but admitted that its German majority owner had indeed made an offer to combine the two companies. It’s statement is choc-a-block with legal mumbo jumbo, but the bare bones is that the company is keen to point out that talks are currently at a very early stage, adding that what’s on the table is not a corporate takeover, but rather a nil-premium, all-share merger.

TUI Travel further stated that a deadline of February 13 had been set, by which time TUI AG will be required to make a firm offer for the proposed merger, or an official announcement that the deal won’t be going ahead. However, it did say that this deadline could possibly be extended if both parties agree to do so.

The announcement, while at least confirming what many in the industry had already taken as fact, will probably do little to dampen speculation on the stock markets, where a buying frenzy from investors caused its share price to jump by more than 8% in the hours following the news.

Interested readers may visit the original announcement via the links, or connect with Tui via their Twitter here. We further iterate here, this is an announcement of a “potential” merger, and nothing more.